Don't let me let you go
by HeartofMerder
Summary: Meredith Grey, first grade teacher, moved to Seattle to get her life back together. Derek Shepherd moved to Seattle with his five-year-old daughter in order to make a fresh start. What if they could restart together? Could they make it work or are there too many obstacles to overcome on their way to happiness? AU Merder
1. Don't let me let you go

**Author's note: Well, this is it. It's mainly MerDer and I hope you'll like it. I tried to write some fanfictions in the past but they never worked out the way I wanted them to, so I gave up on it. But now I'm going to give it another shot. And I'm determined to update regularly! I'm gonna post the first chapter in some hours. The title 'Don't let me let you go' is from a song by Jamie Lawson. In my opinion, it'll suit the storyline just well. So take the time to read the lyrics and afterwards you might want to listen to the song as well (:**  
_

 **Don't let me let you go by Jamie Lawson**

 _I know I make mistakes and I can let you down_  
 _don't always find the words to say_  
 _for all this searching you're the best thing that I've found_  
 _I'll be hoping you stay._

 _Before you let me throw this all away_  
 _before you let me say all the stupid things I'll say_

 _Take these arms and let them hold you tight_  
 _love you more than love could ever know_  
 _I may fuck things up from time to time, but_  
 _Don't let me let you go._  
 _Don't let me let you go._

 _I may get jealous and a little insecure_  
 _I may get drunk and let love bleed_  
 _but it's hard to believe that beauty like yours_  
 _could fall for something like me._

 _Take these arms and let them hold you tight_  
 _love you more than love could ever know_  
 _I may fuck things up from time to time, but_  
 _Don't let me let you go._  
 _Don't let me let you go._

 _I'll do my best to learn from these mistakes_  
 _I may fail but I will always try_  
 _I will tell you every single day I can_  
 _I'll stay right by your side_  
 _Staying right by your side._

 _Take these arms and let them hold you tight_  
 _love you more than love could ever know_  
 _I may fuck things up from time to time, but_  
 _Don't let me let you go._

 _Take these arms and let them hold you tight_  
 _love you more than love could ever know_  
 _I may fuck things up from time to time, but_  
 _Don't let me let you go._

 _Don't ever let me let you go._


	2. Welcome to the new age

**Like I promised, I'm back, and here is it, the first actual chapter. Enjoy and review.**  
_

'I'm starting fresh! It's a beautiful day to start all over again...'  
That was, what she thought, as she opened her window and looked out into the scenery of Seattle, her new home. Meredith Grey moved to Seattle 1 month ago. And today was her first day of work. She'd teach first graders. Today was the day she would start her life all over again. Today was a perfect day to forget about the past! Her past has been anything but pleasant.

Her dad had left her as she'd been a five year old. He's never looked back and started a new family. He just replaced her because she hadn't been good enough for him. 5-year-old Meredith hadn't met his expectations. He's never returned, he's never tried to get in touch with her, he's tried to forget about her existence. Her mother (should she mention that it was the infamous Ellis Grey?!) didn't want her either. She'd kept telling little Meredith she wasn't any good and no one would ever be capable to love her. She'd taught her that she was unlovable and not wanted. Every now and then she would call her a huge mistake, she would blame her for being just ordinary, for being a failure. She was a cold-hearted witch and Meredith had hated her all her life. Never had she tried to comfort her or to support her. Meredith had always been ordinary and average. Nothing that she'd done was good enough for the infamous and outstanding Dr. Grey, winner of a Harper Avery award and founder of the Grey method. Even as Meredith had graduated on top of her class, her mother hadn't even cared to turn up on her graduation party...

Half a year ago she'd found out that she had two half-sisters, Lexie Grey and Molly Thompson. Lexie had tried her best to get to know her but she wouldn't let her. Lexie had constantly reminded her of the mess she was. But after some time she had given in and had given it a shot and got to know Lexie and now they even were friends... kinda, at least Meredith didn't hate Lexie or her existence anymore. That was improvement, wasn't it?

She'd never had an actual boyfriend. She couldn't trust anyone. The past had taught her that everyone, no matter who, would leave her once that they got bored with her and once they got to know about her dark and twisty side. She carried too much baggage with her. No one would want that.

Now it was time to start all over again, to forget about the past and to move on. To stop having one night stands every week and to start to make the lives of first graders great. It was time to step up.

She couldn't screw this up. She just couldn't and she wouldn't. She was good with kids and this was it, this was her opportunity to show everyone she could handle her life on her own and that she wasn't a disappointment or a failure.

Meredith got ready to leave her house, as her phone started ringing. Alex... why the hell was he calling? Didn't she tell him to stop caring for her? Didn't she tell him she would be all fine on her first day of work? Why was he even protecting about her so much...

'Alex, I told you not to call me. I'm fine. Everything's fine. Work's gonna be fine!'

'Good morning to you as well, Angel. You notice, you've used the word fine 3 times! If you are fine, it means you are anything but fine. What's up, Meri-Beri?`, he chuckled.

'I told you I'm fine... and don't call me that!', Meredith wanted to tell him she wasn't sure if she could make it, that she wanted to run for the hills because the fear of being a failure all over again tried to kill her on the inside.

`You know, you gonna do great, right? The kids are gonna love you and so will their parents. Maybe you'll find some midget's single parent who'd do the horizontal mamba with you. Grey, as hot as you are, you aren't getting any younger. When was the last time you...'

'Alex! Stop it!', Meredith interrupted him before he would start to talk about her missing sex life. 'Just because you aren't getting some, you don't need to play a pimp. I don't need a man. If I needed to get laid, I would go to Joe's bar. There are a lot of miserable and desperate men, who would give anything to get me into bed. I'm hot. I'm great. I'm fine. So stop it!'

Ass... what an ass, he couldn't been serious.

'Just that you know, I'm getting enough. Izzie is a goddess! Anyway, little Miss sunshine, I called you because I wanted to wish you good luck. You'll be good. Once in a while someone has to tell you this, Meredith, you are loved, even if you ramble like it depends on your life.'

Even when Alex couldn't see her right now, she knew that he knew she was smiling. Alex was her best friend since preschool. He had saved her when no one was around. He'd protected her from all the mean boys and bullies who would make fun of her because of how fragile and small she looked. Since the moment, she'd met him, she'd trusted him. He was the big brother she never had. Every time she felt alone or left behind, she would turn towards him and he would be there for her. She was grateful for him.

'I do not ramble... that much, ass!', Meredith giggled softly.

'You do, sweetheart! You do. It's probably worse than your snoring!', Alex exclaimed. Alex loved to tease her because of her rambling and her snoring. It never got old.

'I do not ramble and I do not snore. And if you don't hang up, I'll be late. And that's something you don't want to be on your first day of work. Not when this is supposed to be your second chance. Bye Alex, thanks for calling though...'

She knew, it sounded pathetic but she couldn't help it. She needed to do it the right way. Just this one time.

'Bye, Mer. Be safe and teach those little midgets the important things in life first.', Alex laughed and one second later the line went dead. Meredith smiled. If Alex had 'midgets', like he called them, on his own one day, he would be amazing around them. He would make an amazing father. His wife, Izzie, would be a great mother to them too. Their kids would be blessed to have them as their parents.  
She, on the other side, would never have kids... She wasn't good enough. She could be a teacher to first graders but having kids was another thing she couldn't do. She knew, they'd hate her once they grew up. But why was she even thinking about kids... There wasn't even a boyfriend, a lover or a husband. She was alone and she would stay that way because no one wanted to stay by her side for that long. That was what life had taught her long before she turned into an adult.

Life was messy and hard. Love was hard to find and hard to hold onto.

_  
 **I hope you liked it so far. I'm not very experienced in writing stories (okay, this sounded kinda wrong, omg) but this is me trying. I'd be thrilled if you would tell me your opinion on this. In the next chapter, Derek's gonna make an appearance and Meredith's gonna meet his daughter. Curious? :D**


	3. You are the sunshine of my life

**Uhhh, I updated pretty fast, I'm proud of me :D just kidding, this is me trying to be hilarious and failing miserably.**

 **Enjoy this chapter and review, please. I hope I could satisfy your expectations...  
Today, one year ago, 11x21 was aired... Today marks the day we lost Derek... and Merder...  
_**

'Daddy, daddy! Wake up, it's time to get up! Daaaaddyyy', an excited voice called out from the other side of the door.

He heard little foot steps nearing his bed room and immediately started smiling. Seconds later the door opened quietly and a little five-year-old tiptoed to his bed.

'Daddy? Are you awake?', the little girl whispered. Derek laid in bed and pretended to be asleep although he couldn't refrain from laughing. She climbed on his bed and cuddled into him.  
'Daddyy, pleaseeeee. Wake up, we gotta...' Before she could even finish her sentence, Derek grabbed her and spinned her around and started to tickle her.

'Daddy, nooooo, stoooop.', she giggled and started kicking her father. Derek embraced her tightly. Ella laid her head on his chest and snuggled back into him.

'Daddy?', Ella whispered softly.

'What is it, Ellie Princess?'

'Do you think they'll like me?'

'Of course Ellie, They'll love you as much as I love you and do you know how much I love you?`, he made her laugh by tickling her behind her ears.

'You said you loved me to the moon and back, that's a looooooot.' Ella whispered. 'Hmm Daddy? I love you to the moon and back as well. You are the beeesteeest Daddy!', she exclaimed and snuggled even further into Derek.

'You'll do great, Ellie Princess

'But what if they hate me? Just like Mommy did...'

Derek felt his heart sink. Ella still thought that her Mum had hated her because she couldn't care for her anymore. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd had been the love of Derek's life, or at least that was what he'd thought for a long time. He'd met her in Med-school and they've immediately fallen in love and married 2 years later. They'd had a joyful and perfect life and Ella had made it even better, but half a year ago Addison got diagnosed with cancer. Since that moment their life changed completely... for the worse.

Addison had to undergo chemo and radiation and at first she felt better but after some time she got moody and started snapping at Ella for random reasons. She wouldn't let her hug her anymore, she wouldn't want to spend time with her own daughter. It got worse from day to day. Ella felt neglected and thought she had done something wrong. Every night she would cry herself to sleep because her Mommy didn't love her anymore. Derek had a hard time to calm her down. He had tried to be there for both of them, for his daughter and for his wife, even as his wife tried to push him away.

Although he'd known that radiation could do those things to her, he'd never thought it would get that bad. During this time, Derek realized, Addison wasn't in love with him anymore and neither was he. But he couldn't leave her because he'd meant what he'd promised at their wedding day... for better or for worse... he believed in those words.

The last month had been insufferable for each of them. Addison had fought cancer for 5 months already by then but each day her medical condition got worse. She couldn't get out of bed, her breathing got dull, her skin got pale and she barely could keep her collapsed eyes open. Derek stayed by her side 24/7 and Ella wouldn't leave his side.

On one night, her last night on earth, it all got too much. Addison woke up having trouble breathing. While the doctors worked on her and tried to keep her alive, she suffered a heart attack. The doctors had done everything in their power but the cancer got the last out of here...  
After Addison's death and funeral Derek decided to move west and to leave his old life behind. New York hold good memories, same as very bad ones. Derek had to leave his bitterness and sadness behind, for the sake of his five-year old daughter who meant more to him than words could ever express.

'Ellie, Mommy didn't hate you. She was sick and she couldn't handle her emotions anymore. But she loved you a lot, although she couldn't show it. She still loves you so much...', he paused and a lone tear made it way down his cheek.  
Ella looked up and saw the sad expression on his face.

'Daddy, did I make you sad?, tears started to build up in her eyes and her lip started trembling.

'No, darling! You are the one who makes me happy all the time. What would I do without my Ellie Princess?!', he smiled and stroked her hair. 'Ellie, no one will hate you, they'll love you so much. The first day of school is a special day and you'll do great. You'll make friends fast, little buttercup.'

'Can't you go with me, Daddy?' Ella whispered, 'we could start school together... just you and me...'

His heart broke for her once again. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable but he knew she'd be fine once she saw that school wasn't a scary place.

'Ellie, I can't... I need to go to work...'

'So that you can fix other people's booboos?'

'Yess, Ellie, Daddy has to help them. But you'll be fine and if you need me, I'll be one phone call away, Princess.'

'Okay, and they'll like me?'

'They will, Princess! But now lets get dressed and ready for breakfast. I'll make you pancakes with maple syrup, is that alright?'

'I lovee pancakes! Daddy, get up, you need to make me pancakes!' Ella got up and ran towards her room to get dressed. She was ball of energy when it came to food. Derek laughed and got up to take a shower quickly and to get Ella's breakfast done.

On their way to Ella's new school, Ella kept singing to the songs of Derek's favorite band 'The Clash'. After a ten minutes drive, they got out of the car and went inside.

'Daddy, I think I'm not ready... Can we go home? Let's run, daddy, no one will notice...', Ella pleaded.

'Princess, you'll love school a lot. Let's search for your classroom first, okay?', he stroked her hair and smiled encouraging. 'Hmm, you're class teacher is called , Let's get going, Honey.'  
While they neared her classroom, Ella's grip on her father's hand strengthened. She hold his hand as if her life depended on it. In front of the classroom a tall, blonde woman, probably in her thirties, waited for her students to enter the room.  
'Hey there, I'm . I'm your Teacher and I'll promise you we'll have a lot fun in class.', Ms. Stevens knelt down and put out her hand towards the little girl. 'And who are you?', she smiled. Ella shyly hid behind Derek's legs without loosening her grip on his hand. With her free hand she played with her long, dark brown hair. Derek smiled at and desperately waited for Ella to make the first move and introduce herself to her new teacher.

'To let you know, everyone gets some cookies if they tell me their name', smiled at her cheery.

'Chocolate chip cookies?', Ella asked carefully, but her eyes were shining brightly.

'I've got a lot of chocolate chip cookies.' She laughed, 'So what's your name, little one?'

'Ella. I'm Ella Shepherd. And that's my Daddy. He's the beeesteeest Daddy in the entire world.', Ella smiled and finally took hand and shook it. Derek's heart melted at her words. His daughter was a gift from heaven, and he couldn't stop smiling.

'It's a pleasure to meet you, . I'll take good care of Ella.', she smiled. 'Well, who wants some chocolate chip cookies now?'  
'Meee!' Ella jumped up and down. She'd already warmed up to her teacher, which was a good sign. She turned around to look at her father and he pulled her into a tight hug.

'I love you, Ellie.', he whispered into her ear. She was growing up so fast.  
'I love you too, Daddy. To the moon and back!', she whispered and hugged him even tighter.

After they pulled away, Ella followed her teacher into the classroom and Derek waved at her before he left the building to drive to his new workplace, Seattle Grace Hospital.

_  
 **Okay, I'm a lying liar... I told you Derek would meet Meredith in this chapter but he didn't ooops... but they will meet soonish, I promise (hmmm, I shouldn't promise you things :D)  
I hope you liked this chapter. You got a lot of Derek and Ella (:  
Please review and tell me your honest opinion on this chapter. Reviews motivate me to keep writing. I've got the next chapter already planned, so I hope I'll be able to update in a few days. See ya.**


	4. You belong with me

**I'm soo sorry... I've abandoned this story for about 6 months... I wasn't planning on this to happen but life's been busy for a while. And then I forgot about this story oops...  
But I'm back now! I promise! (Okay, I shouldn't promise anything cuz you see what happened to my last promise, huh? :D)**

 **Have fun reading this and revieeeew!**

After dropping Ella in school, Derek was headed to his new work place, the Seattle Grace Hospital.  
The closer he got, the more excited he got. It wasn't just Ella's first day of school. It was his first day of work as well. Although he was an adult, the tremulousness never stayed away before a huge event.

He parked his car and headed into the hospital, searching for the Chief's office. Arriving there, he knocked and waited:

'Come in!', a voice called out. Taking one breath to steady himself, he opened the door and stood face to face with his new boss, his former best friend Mark Sloan.

Mark and Derek had known each other for basically their whole life. One day Derek had brought Mark home to his parents and they became inseparable. The used to do everything together. But as puberty hit both of them, they'd drifted apart. Mark'd become the most popular guy at school, every girl wanted to hook up with, Derek on the other hand struggled with acne and being a geek. Time flew by and they went separate ways without even contacting each other anymore... until the day Addison died...

'Look, who do we got here? The long lost Derek Shepherd, who hasn't even bothered to keep in touch with his best friend! You finally decided to join my team, good choice mate', Mark joked and stood up to give him a manly hug.

'I needed to start fresh after what happened with Addison...', he paused, 'Mom was driving me crazy with all her support and help...'

'Hey, her baby boy needs to grow up on his own, huh?', Mark smirked.

'Shut up. It's hard enough I've got to work under you...',, Derek sighed.

'Well I've never got any complaints about my services, Ask the nurses, they know what I'm talking about. Working under me is the best that could happen to you. I could show you, my love', Mark said in a flirty voice while he tried to repress laughing.

'You are unbelievable!', Derek told him, 'but it's kinda nice to see that some things never change, huh? Once a man whore, always a man whore.'

'At least I'm getting laid, compared to you, my dear loverboy. How long has it been since you've had some decent sex? 1 year, 2 years? Mate, you gotta get it up again!'

'That's none of your business, Mark. I've got a 5 year-old I gotta take care of! I can't jump into one-night stands and hurt Ella in the process! I don't need another girl to make me happy at the moment nor I need to get laid!', Derek shouted, getting a little angry.

'Aren't we a little stressed? Dude, you gotta relax! Anyways we will discuss this topic later but first I'm gonna show you this hospital and assign some good cases to you. , the former head of Neurosurgery wasn't even half as good as you are! You'll make the neurological wing shine again: Thanks to... me of course. You wouldn't be here if I didn't accept you', Mark grinned.

Derek sighed. Mark hasn't lost his overconfident attitude over those years. 'Some things never gonna change... But let's to work and survive this!', he thought and followed Mark.

 **Meredith's POV**

'This day can't get any worse, can it? My class is full of little monsters... they won't even listen to a word I'm saying to them. They don't take me serious and they seem to hate me! How am I going to survive one whole year with those ones... Life simply hates me...', Meredith thought and slammed her head into her hands. 'At least this cruel day is almost over and my students are at home and I can rest in my classroom...'

As Meredith looked up, she noticed a little girl with beautiful brown hair leaning shyly against the door frame and looking at her with teary eyes.

Immediately she got up and went to that girl.  
'Hey there', she said while bending down so that she was on her height. 'What are you still doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at home by now? School ended 1 hour ago.', Meredith asked that girl in the softest voice. Even though she didn't know that girl, the girl infuriated her with its blue eyes and brown curls.

The girl began tearing up and tried to hide her face behind the little teddy bear she was holding onto.  
'Hey, hey, it's okay! Come here', Meredith tried to comfort her. She reached out for the girl's little hand and guided her into the room.

'I'm Meredith and who are you, Little one?', she smiled at her.

'El...Ella', the little girl murmured while sitting down on the couch in the back of the room.

'I want my Daddy!', she cried in between sobs, holding tightly on her teddy bear.

Meredith didn't know what to do and simply gave her a hug to comfort her. 'It's okay, Ella. Your Daddy's gonna be here soon!', Meredith insured her while stroking Ella's beautiful hair.  
'Do you think Daddy forgot me and that he doesn't want me to be with him anymore?' Ella looked up at Meredith and tears were rushing down her cheeks once again.  
'No Ella, no... Your Daddy loves you! He loves you a lot. Every parent does.' Meredith gulped... Her parents didn't love her. They didn't want her and abandoned her... but she couldn't tell a 5-year old about her love issues. This girl seems to went through a lot at this young age...  
'Ella everything's gonna be alright. I'm gonna wait with you all the time until your Daddy comes to pick you up! Okay?', Meredith smiled at her and Ella returned her smile.  
'Okay Miss Meredith!' After saying this she snuggled back into Meredith.

'So it's been your first day here', Meredith asked. Ella nodded.  
'Tell me about your day, Princess.' Meredith's just known this little girl for less then a hour but she had already captured her heart. When her father would finally turn up, she would reprimand him for being late on Ella's first day of school. What a jerk!  
'I had a great day. helped me to paint a picture for my Daddy', she smiled proudly and played with her teddy bear.

'YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE MY DAUGHTER IS?', an angry but concerned voice was heard from outside the room.  
'Miss Meredith, that's my Daddy! He came!', Ella smiled and ran out of the room. In the process she lost her teddy bear. Meredith picked it up and followed Ella. What she saw on the hallway, melted her heart.  
A man, that probably was Ella's father, picked Ella up and swirled her around while Ella was giggling. He hold her up into the air and bathed her in kisses all over her face which made her giggle even more. Her giggle was such a beautiful sound to listen to. You could tell that that man loved Ella more than anything in the world. She was his everything. They made such a great family.  
He hugged Ella closely and stroked her hair.  
'I'm sorry I've been late, Ellie-Princess. I love you', she heard him whisper to her.  
'To the moon and back?', Ella asked carefully. Her father made her look at him and said: 'To the moon and back. My love for you is infinite, my little beautiful Ellie.'

This man couldn't be real. He just couldn't. He was like one of the princes in the fairy tales... like a knight in shining armor. This guys simply couldn't be real. He was too perfect for this life. Meredith couldn't believe her eyes. Every guy she had met was quite the opposite of that guy standing just a few meters away from her. 'His wife had to be one hell of a lucky woman', she thought sadly.

Before she realized it, the man walked towards her, with Ella in his arms.  
'Hi, I'm Derek Shepherd. Ella's father.', he smiled at Meredith with a dreamy smile and reached out his hand. Ella slung her arms tighter around Derek's neck and looked at Meredith happily.  
'Meredith Grey', she said shyly and shook his hand. They've just touched for a moment but it drove sparkles down her spine. His hand was so warm and his smile was making her weak to her knees. Now she knew from where Ella got her dreamy smile. Derek got Ella down from his arm and asked her to get her bag and her jacket. She immediately ran away.

'I know what you are thinking... you think I'm a horrible father to pick up my daughter 2 hours too late. You think I should have tried to be on time especially on Ella's first day of school...' Meredith was shocked... She had thought this before she had met Derek. He was anything but a bad father. He cared for Ella so much and loved her limitless. Meredith opened her mouth to say something but was immediately interrupted by Derek.  
'You don't need to say anything... I'm really trying here.', Derek said sadly. Meredith felt bad for him. He didn't do anything wrong. Okay, he let his daughter wait for him to pick her up for 2 hours but he appeared and bathed her in kisses while telling her how much he missed her.  
'No! You are a great father to her. She adores you so much. She told me all about her amazing daddy. I'm not supposed to tell you but she painted a picture for you and can't wait to give it to the best daddy in the world!', Meredith assured him and giggled. Where did that giggle come from? She barely smiled anymore, let alone giggled. This guy was doing something to her that she'd never felt before. She just needed to watch him and her heart beat faster, her hands became sweaty and her knees melted when he just smiled at her. And she'd just met him minutes ago...

Derek smiled at her. 'Ella is my everything. She's an angel. I wouldn't even know what I would do without her.' Meredith looked down awkwardly. A shining object on his annular finger caught her eye.  
'Your wife is a lucky woman to have a husband like you', she smiled at him but deep down she was disappointed. Seconds after saying this, she panicked... 'You didn't just say that, Meredith Grey, Noo you didn't', she thought to herself...  
'Ehm... my wife..my wife died 6 months ago...' he told her and tried his hardest to hold himself together. He twisted his ring and continued: 'I just couldn't bring myself to take my wedding ring off...', he smiled sadly.  
'I'm so sorry... I... I'm horrible at this.', Meredith said and stroked his arm softly to comfort him. She wasn't realizing it at first but they were standing dangerously close next to each other. It was like a force had pulled them towards each other.

At this moment Meredith looked up into Derek piercing blue eyes. He was staring at her. The time stopped for a moment and they moved closer and didn't stop staring into each others eyes. They were just inches away from each other... Meredith wanted to be as close as possible to him. He somehow attracted her... Meredith made a move to even be closer to him as...

'Daddy, DADDY! Look what I've painted for you!', Ella innocently came running towards them. They broke apart immediately. Derek pulled his arm away from Meredith's touch and knelt down to receive Ella with open arms.  
'Princess, this is the most beautiful picture I've seen.', he said while hugging his daughter. 'Do you know where I'll put it?'  
Ella shook her head no.  
'I'll hang it up in my office, next to all the other pictures you've painted for me, so far. Everyone should see, how great of a painter my amazing daughter is!'  
Ella smiled, hearing this. 'I love you, Daddy. You are the bestest Daddy!'  
Derek lifted her up again and grabbed her bag.  
'It's time for us to have some Daddy – Daughter time at home. How does that sound, Ellie-Bee?', Derek asked, smiling from one cheek to the other.  
'Yeeeessss! Make pizza, pleaseeeee', Ella exclaimed excitedly.

Meredith laughed. This kid was a handful, but extremely cute as well. Somehow Ella reminded her of herself as a kid... just without this perfect and good-looking father.  
Just as Meredith wanted to turn around to reenter her classroom again, a small hand grabbed hers and she turned around surprised.  
Ella was standing next to her and looked up to her.  
'Thanks Miss Meredith for waiting with me! You are a great hugger!', she saud sweetly.  
Before Meredith could say anything, Ella hugged her midsection tightly. Meredith lifted Ella up and hugged her even closer.

'Ella, you don't have to thank me. I'm happy I met such a great girl!', Meredith whispered into Ella's hair.  
After some time Meredith let go of Ella and Ella walked up to her Dad.  
'Daddy, you have to thank Miss Meredith as well!', she lectured her father in a serious voice, which made him chuckle.  
'Okay, Miss. Ellie.', Derek closed the space between himself and Meredith and hugged her tight, breathing in her sweet lavender scent 'Thank you so much Meredith!'

Meredith was screwed.. she couldn't fall in love with him... she couldn't imagine herself being a part of this family, when she didn't even believe in love, could she?

_  
 **Well, here it is! I tried...**  
 **I know, their first encounter was pretty short... but they'll get to know each other in the next chapters! As you can see Ella is a big part of this story, so there'll be quite a lot of chapters, in which she'll appear, being incredibly cute (hopefully). Nonetheless Merder's love story's gonna be the main priority of this story :D Mark's gonna appear a lot as well, and so will some other characters.**  
 **I'm hoping you are liking this story so far. Please tell me in the reviews about your opinions on this chapter and the fanfiction in general so far.**  
 **Reviews keep me motivated to keep writing! Please kick my ass, when I keep you waiting this long again. I've figured out, that sometimes I'm a horrible writer...**  
 **Btw I'm searching for a Beta reader, who is experienced in writing fanfictions and who would be willing to read my chapters before I post them cuz I'm pretty new to writing... And I need that reader to kick my ass, when I'm being lazy. :D**  
 **Message me, if you want to help me hehe (:**  
 **Ohh btw, you can private message me ideas and improvement suggestions any time, if you like to.**  
 **Lots of Love and see ya soon**

 **-Tharsi**


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